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Membership Fee. You pay an amount, which in this description of the Tesla Roadster Club we're calling a membership fee to join the Tesla Roadster Club. The membership fee is fully refundable up to the day that you confirm your option selections, which is three months prior to the production of your Tesla Roadster. The membership fee is as follows:
Premium Buyer: $50,000
Patient Buyer: $30,000 (The Patient Buyer will permit Premium Buyer to take priority in terms of order and delivery dates; however, the Patient Buyer will receive a 2008 Tesla Roadster.)
Order Placement & Credit. When Tesla Motors begins accepting orders for the Tesla Roadster, each Tesla Roadster Club member will be given the opportunity to place an order for a 2008 model year, before Tesla Roadster orders are accepted from the general public. The membership fee will be credited against Tesla Roadster acquisition costs.

Yet in another article you mention, it states that production will not begin until 2009.

We invite you to customize and reserve a 2008 Tesla Roadster. Your car will come standard with a rich set of features, and you can select from a variety of options here. (Don't worry, you won't be locked-in to these options. We will confirm your choices three months prior to production of your car.)

Base price excludes tax and state fees. Cars are available for sale and delivery exclusively in the contiguous United States. Your car will be reserved when we receive your reservation payment. The delivery date is an estimate and is subject to change.

The company's immediate focus remains on its first model, the two-seat Tesla Roadster, a $98,000 all-electric sports car. Tesla hopes by this fall to begin production and delivery of the Roadster, pending any delays caused by upcoming crash and durability testing, Siry said. The Roadster is being assembled in the United Kingdom.

Siry said the company intends to apply lessons learned while developing the Roadster to its work on the WhiteStar.

What? I have seen them on the streets many times. They DO exist. About 200 are in private ownership so far.

First you ask if someone owns one, and then, 14 minutes later, as no one replies, you insist that it is not in production and is a scam.

That is not very logical.

They are backed by some of the biggest VCs, financed by Elon Musk, and have had many articles in major publications. They may eventually succeed or fail, but have been selling a Roadster for some time.

I said that a particular electric car that you were predicting would not be commercially bought by the masses. I did not state that electric cars would not be sold to the masses. In fact, small, slow electric cars are sold to the masses. I referred to the car you predicted: a sedan seating 5 selling for less than $20,000.

You think that it will be 2015 for the 4 door 240 hp, 60 mpg at $35,000.

I think it will be 20 years or more.

We have an honest difference of opinion, fair enough.

As for Tesla, I may yet be right. They maybe a con and a fraud. They may collapse into bankruptcy before they mass produce and deliver the 2008 Roadster which has a "delivery date is an estimate and is subject to change".

But they have already sold 100+ units of the 2007 Roadster. I have seen them, and some current owners are listed.

The 2008 Roadster is to be released, but they have 500+ on pre-order.

Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page are not stupid enough to defraud 500 rich and famous customers to make a few million dollars each, when all 3 of them already have net worths of $500M, $12B, and $12B respectively. They are not Nigerians, you know.

You can say you doubt their technology, but can't claim they are a 'scam'.

There's only one serious problem with the Tesla roadster...RANGE. They say it goes 200 miles between charges and that, my friend, is impossible. The L-Ion batteries in it, have the energy density of 2 gallons of gasoline. Driving the Tesla like grandma, you may get 100 miles out of it. Lead footing around town, more like 40 miles. Big problem.

BTW: Nobody has ever even driven a Tesla, other than Tesla employees, yet alone put one in their garage. All of the people who have ever ridden in one, were in the passenger seat for 5 minute rides. If people knew the truth about the true range, the company wouldn't be able to collect deposits.

Time will tell, particularly after the 500 units of 2008 models are delivered. Tesla took deposits from many high-profile people, so they know that they would not be able to get away with any misrepresentation. This leads me the believe they would not misrepresent.

Tesla reminds me of another company called BRE-X . I am wondering where all that money is going.... Humm
What is the backgroung of Elon??? How about Ze'ev Drori ??? It is not about financing or producing an electric car, it is about money being funelled out of the country .....both of them .... interesting backgrounds